Race for One Piece: The Silver Fox
by alittlebitlate
Summary: AU. Becoming a pirate was never easy, but now, the end seems to loom over the horizon for the Saber Pirates; an abandoned crew, a Shichibukai, and two connected islands will shake their world as blood is shed and the silver fox's story is finally told. [Based off Teruul's Race for One Piece]
1. Part I

**A/N: **Just a quick note, this is a NON-CANON movie-style fic of my take on Kitsune's past. This will either be in one, massive part, or two to three parts, and it's my tribute to the amazing fic, _Race for One Piece _and the awesome author and artist, Teruul. I'm not even kidding. Go search that shit up and read it (preferably before you read this). This is probably set after the Astala arc, but before the Volcaniea arc, like a sort of insert.

**ALSO: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE WITH THE ONE PIECE MANGA. PLEASE TAKE THIS IN NOTE. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Eiichiro Oda's genius manga, nor do I own Teruul's awesome fic. All credits go to owners (though the OCs appearing in the story are mine)

* * *

"Officer!"

Footsteps echoed throughout the loud, majestic hall. Despite palace-like grandeur of it, fit for ten kings, it was shrouded in darkness, an uneasy feel looming over it. Dirt marred the slate-gray bricks, the black flags hung over the walls were dusty and had a little bit of mold. There were a few leaky spots on the rooftop, and, most importantly, rows and rows of deadly weapons lined the walls, varying from broadswords to spiked maces to large clubs.

A pair of feet, clad in black shoes, sent echoes throughout the large place. The man, who was quite young for a pirate (only in his early twenties), panted as he neared the captain's room.

Flinging the wooden door open, he entered the large room, the high, arching roof lined with human heads, many of them, kept upon the walls with jutting spikes, speared through the brain. Some of them were preserved, their faces still contorted in a look of fear and horror, while others were nothing but rotting lumps of flesh and bone.

The young pirate suppressed a small shudder upon laying his eyes on them. At the very back of the room, was the elite officer himself. His face was almost always covered by a shadow, and, judging on how whoever laid their eyes upon his face had lost their sanity, the pirate wasn't too eager to see it for himself. He was tall, but the shadows hid the rest of his features.

"What is it, Shijin?" the elite officer growled. Shijin jumped slightly. His voice was dark and coarse, effectively erasing any wish to face him in battle.

"P-please take a look at this, captain," Shijin stammered, breaking out into a cold sweat as he shakily held out a stack of paper. It was rather thin, but the information displayed on it was crucial. They were the recently-sent new bounty posters from Marine Headquarters, for the Saber Pirates. Apparently, according to the newspaper, they had done some massive revolt on Astala Island and their bounties had increased.

The man snatched the papers, rifling through them. "The new rookie from North Blue?" he snorted. "Sabertooth Atalaya...135,000,000 beri? Not bad." a hint of bloodlust inched into his voice, sending yet another round of goosebumps up Shijin's arms. He leafed through each page, his bloodlust varying at the bounty numbers. "Demon Archer... Gentleman?" he snorted. "Two-Faced Gunner... Witch Doctor..."

He turned to the final bounty, his fingers hovering inches over the paper as his eyes widened, the picture of the silver-haired man stopping him from dismissing it. "Crimson Fox Kitsune..." he murmured. A maniacal grin spread over his face, the only thing visible behind the shadows, and Shijin flinched slightly.

"It's..._that man_, isn't it, sir?" Shijin asked with slight caution. "The one..."

The captain released a bark of cruel laughter. "His head is only worth 118,000,000 beri?! That greenhorn couldn't force me on one knee!" he threw the stack of bounty posters, letting them scatter wildly in every direction, and the picture of the eerie grin on the silver-haired swordsman's face sent shivers through Shijin's body.

"My only scar..." the man murmured, suddenly calmed. "It's throbbing! _Come and kill me if you can, Crimson Fox!_" he shouted, bloodlust floating through the air. The captain was too preoccupied with his adrenaline rush that he didn't notice Shijin slowly backing away, bowing quickly while gathering up the posters, and excusing himself.

His heart was still pounding with fear as he ran down the grand halls, squeezing the bounty papers so hard it hurt, as the unhinged peals of undaunted glee reached his ears. His superior was getting agitated right now, and Shijin was wondering if it was a good idea, showing him the papers at all.

_If you're smart, Crimson Fox, you'll stay away. _

* * *

Kitsune sneezed loudly on the deck of Atlas, making Fell jump, the small dragon unintentionally dragging Roa up along with her (whom's shoulder she was perched upon). The blond archer yelped as he was thrown up several feet in the air, before the green-scaled dragon dropped him in slight relief that it wasn't an enemy.

"Damn it Kitsune!" Roa snapped irritably, probing sorely at his butt, which had taken the majority of the blow against the Eve wood. "Sneeze a little louder, would ya? _I don't quite think they heard you in hell_."

The only response was a light chuckle from the bloodthirsty, silver-haired fox, and Roa made a growling noise. Fell, looking a little apologetic at dropping her master, growled along with him.

"'Tis birds of a feather, who growl much like feral animals," Lance commented disdainfully as he exited his workshop, placing his feathered hat on his head. The blue-haired shipwright's words made Roa's eye twitch, and he glared murderously at Lance.

Atalaya, sitting lazily in the crow's nest, sighed as the two of them battled fiercely on the deck, running a hand through her short brown hair. She watched as Ankh, masked in her scary voodoo cover, stomped up to them, shouting about how Lance might re-open his injury that he had received a few days ago while poring over bits of scrap metal, and where one accidentally stabbed his side, before promptly beating both grown men into a pulp as Roa flipped her off, Fell screeching as she flew over them in alarm.

Ruule walked out the kitchen, a cheerful smile at his lips, balancing two trays of refreshments on each hand, Rosa and Beauty strapped at his waist. "I made drinks," he chirped lightly, his eyes glossing over the fact that Ankh was now dragging two beaten-up men below deck, bruised and with bumps the size of ostrich eggs on their heads.

"Thanks, Ruule," Atalaya jumped from her perch, landing like a feline in front of the curly-haired chef, and reaching to grab a lime-green one with a small purple umbrella on top. Kitsune reached up to grab one, too, before sparing a glance at the horizon.

"Look alive, sweetheart," Kitsune commented, earning a bristle from his captain. He chuckled at the reaction, before gesturing to the small island in front of them. "There's th' island we're dockin' at." He pointed a little behind the horizon.

Atalaya looked up, blinking in slight surprise as greenery met her eyes, maybe four hundred meters away. How had she missed that? A grin split her face. She turned, cupping her mouth.

"Hey! Lance! Roa! We're finally at the next island!" She crowed loudly, grinning. She accidentally squeezed too hard on her glass in excitement, and it promptly crunched into small shards, her hand dripping with green water, and earning a chuckle from Kitsune.

Atalaya sucked in a hiss of pain as the glass dug in the skin of her palm. She opened it, revealing translucent shards, as well as blood oozing out. She bent down, about to tug them out (and probably make her hand bleed even more), when she heard a high-pitched, whining noise.

"What..." the word died on her lips as Atalaya realized there was a cannonball flying top speed at them. She opened her mouth to yell a warning, only for the cannonball to explode maybe five meters from the ship. She spared a glance behind her; Ruule had dropped the trays, a smoking Beauty in his hands. He still had that carefree grin, but the glint in his eyes belonged to Eluur.

Before she could begin to sigh in relief, three more cannonballs flew in their direction. While Ruule swiftly blasted them in midair, Atalaya scanned the border of the island and realized that they were firing on them. There was a gray brick wall lining the shores, a bit behind the sand, where black cannons peeked out of several holes in the wall. "Ruule!" she called, earning the chef's attention. "It's the island! The cannons are coming from there!"

The door to below deck slammed open forcefully, and Ankh ran out. "I heard an explosion!" the chains on her wrists rattled loudly, and Roa and Lance followed her, trench knives and bow in hand.

Atalaya gritted her teeth. "They're probably firing on us because we're pirates! Don't fire back!" she called, giving Kitsune a rather intense glare (to which he smirked at, which slightly worried her). She turned into her hybrid form, fur growing on her skin and canines lengthening, pressing into her old scars. "Claw Gun!" she snarled, blowing up a cannonball mid-way.

"Well, _sweetheart_," Kitsune jingled, a smirk on his face. "They seem pretty 'ell-bent on killin' _us_, dunno, my sword might _slip_ - "

"I swear, Kitsune, if you attack even _one _of the citizens, you're on cleaning duty for the rest of your _life_," Atalaya growled back.

Ignoring Kitsune's laughter, she looked over her shoulder, calling out to her navigator.

"Roa! There's a bunch of sharp rocks jutting in the waters near the shore! D'you think you can navigate us through them?!"

The blond archer, who was soaring high with Fell on his back, let loose an explosive arrow, which connected with a cannonball and promptly exploded in an ashy gray cloud, before looking down and scoffing.

"Don't underestimate me," he huffed, Fell lowering him down. He landed in front of the helm, before suddenly spinning the wheel to port, temporarily slamming the ship's occupants on the deck.

"Don't mistreat my ship, idiotic charlatan!" Lance snapped, getting up and dusting himself off.

"Who're you calling charlatan?!" Roa snarled back.

Ankh broke into a run, using the momentum to push off and perform a rather impressive jump, before swinging one of her weights, connecting with the cannonball, and deflecting its course. It landed in the water some thirty meters west of the ship, exploding a few moments after it had gone under the surface. "Not the time!" she scowled at the two men.

_Bang! _

Atalaya twitched her ears. What was that distinctive noise? It came from far away, in the direction of the island...

_Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!_

She widened her eyes, hearing them in rapid succession. Without warning, she transformed completely into a sabertooth, sprinting toward the mast, before digging her claws in, running parallel to the ground, until she reached the crow's nest, where she turned, pushing off and soaring in the air. She willed the fur over her body to thicken, before twisting in the air so that her back faced the island. She winced as she felt the bullets connect with her back, biting her lip to prevent a cry of pain.

She fell to the deck like a rock, even while transforming back into a human, before being caught by her shipwright. She winced as he gently set her on the deck, feeling sharp pains on her back. "Are you okay?" Lance asked.

She felt the back of her shirt. There were four holes in her shirt, but thanks to her fur, the bullets had only dug past the first layer. Gingerly, she probed at the exposed flesh, the small black objects falling to the ground with a clatter. "Guns," she said. "They're using gatling guns." she grimaced. "They may or may not have a grudge against pirates...or Kitsune."

At that last word, she turned her head to send a questioning glare at her first mate, who only grinned and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Ain't me, at least this time," he jingled lightly.

Ruule, who had climbed up to the crow's nest after Atalaya had taken the bullets, was now cocking his guns in his head and stopping bullets with his own. Every time two bullets connected, they would fall harmlessly to the ground, and that effectively showered the rest of the crew in a rain of metallic bullets. To his credit, he was holding his own against five gatling guns, his arms blurring as he shot them all down with deadly precision.

They had neared the island, which meant that they were more hard-pressed on defending Atlas. Atalaya watched as a bunch of people streamed through the doors built at the base of the wall, all holding makeshift wooden shields and sloppily-made spears, which were pieces of wood sharpened at the end. Their clothes were ones of a peasant's, with tattered tunics and torn shorts, all dusty and some covered with mud, while their sandals were very simply made.

"They're not soldiers," she mused. "They're just the village's men."

"Captain!" Roa called. "If we go any nearer, Atlas will get beached on the island. We need to stop here."

Atalaya nodded to his words. "Roa! Lance! Drop the anchor! Ruule! Kitsune! Fold the sails! Quit your whining, Kitsune, it's not gonna kill you," she added when the swordsman started mock whining. She looked down to the water and winced as she realized how narrowly their ship had squeezed through the razor-sharp rocks. In fact, the rocks didn't even seem natural. They were smooth, sharpened roughly to a fine point, and they seemed to be anchored by a rope tied near the base.

She realized that they probably _weren't _natural. Did the village's people do that too? While thinking about it, Ankh landed beside her. Despite the mask, Atalaya knew she was scowling at the wounds on her back. The woman slapped some band-aids on her back, before following her gaze and grunting. "They're probably more defense mechanisms. They seem very unwelcome to sailors."

A splash in the water told her that the anchor had gone down, and the flap of fabric showed that the sails had been folded. Nodding to her crew, she broke into a run, to which the villagers tensed at, before jumping and landing smoothly on the soft sand, sending up a cloud of dust.

"Hi! Nice of you to come out and greet us," Atalaya said cheerily.

One man who was near the front stepped forward, brandishing his spear aggressively. He had a square jaw, though he had a slightly childish face, suggesting that he was young. He had shaggy brown hair and traces of brown stubble lining his jaw. He was quite tall, easily towering over Atalaya as he glared at her.

"Leave now, pirate, or suffer our wrath!" he growled at her. He tensed again as the rest of the crew jumped down beside her. She saw some of them flinch at Ankh's mask, and some stared in wonder at Fell.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she said, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. Contrary to soothing the villagers, they tensed as if she was going to attack them. "I'm not here to pillage or anything. I just want to restock on some supplies and stay until the Log sets."

"We aren't falling for your tricks, pirate!" the man stepped forward again, making a jabbing motion with his spear. Automatically, Atalaya sidestepped it, but the sudden movement seemed to be a counterattack in the eyes of the villagers, and the crowd stepped forward, surrounding the five pirates and the dragon. The spear slashed a shallow cut on Kitsune's cheek, the swordsman not bothering to move. On the contrary, her first mate grinned, raising Hebi Kotei.

"Kitsune! Don't attack them!" Atalaya snarled irritably. "I swear, if you attack them - "

"Oi, cap'n, yer gettin' pushed 'round by a buncha villagers," the silver-haired swordsman interrupted. "An' worst o' all, yer _lettin' _them."

Atalaya bristled at his aggravating words. "I'm trying to _pacify _them," she scowled at him. "We still need to restock on this island, and if the entire village is after our heads, that won't be too easy."

"So you admit to wanting to pillage our town!" the man at the front accused, snarling.

"Since when is 'restock' synonymous to 'pillage'?" Roa grumbled behind her, though he was smart enough to lower his voice so the villagers wouldn't hear him. "They're way too jumpy and accusing."

"Leave, pirates! Or we'll slaughter every last one of you!" the man repeated again, jabbing the spear violently.

Almost in slow motion, Atalaya saw Kitsune's smirk spread into a chilling, menacing smile that he usually wore while fighting enemies, and her body moved of her own accord. Fur grew over her skin as she turned into her hybrid form, before running between Kitsune and the man. _"Stop, Kitsune!" _

She managed to parry Hebi Kotei with her elongated fangs, though the spear stabbed the small of her back. Pain lanced up her back, but she still mustered enough strength to fling back the sword, and for a moment, she swore she saw Kitsune's smile waver.

Atalaya whipped around, wincing as the sharpened end of the spear ripped away a chunk of fur, before returning to human form. Almost immediately, cries of the villagers sounded in the air.

"He's a demon!"

"Look! He just transformed to kill us all!"

"Kill them!"

The man at the front glowered at her. "Thought you could catch us off guard?!" he spat, raising his voice before Atalaya could protest. "Men! Charge!"

"Shit," Atalaya growled, stepping back. Giving up, she readied herself for a fight, assuming a fighting stance and holding up her fists. "Hold your ground!" she yelled to her crewmates. "Don't injure unless necessary!"

She was spared from that when a commanding voice rose up from the battle cries of the men. _"Stop, you insolent puppies!"  
_

Almost as if on cue, the men surging forward suddenly stopped - even the man at the front. Atalaya, surprised, momentarily let her fists drop and her pose went lax. The door at the base of the wall was flung open, and an old woman, dressed in robes, staggered out, leaning heavily on a walking staff. Her hair was as white as the snow in Atalaya's hometown back in North Blue, and her skin was deeply lined with creases, sagging. She was skinny, and she looked incredibly frail, but her ice-blue eyes looked incredibly sharp and she still walked forward like a proud queen. The men, though all taller than her, cringed and cowered away.

She limped until she was right beside the man at the front, who had stopped in mid-swing of his spear, before suddenly raising her cane and whacking her cane rather forcefully in his face. The man spluttered, thrown back from the blow, stumbled back a bit to regain his balance.

"Think, you idiots!" she snapped, her eyes flashing with frustration. "Not all pirates are like them! If they wish for peace, give them peace until they attack! Or would you rather provoke them into a battle?! And you!" she turned on the man she had just assaulted. "Hogosha! Leading men to their deaths! Did you not feel the bloodlust from that swordsman?! If it weren't for their captain, you would all be dead by now!" she yelled out a few more insults as she continuously beat Hogosha with a cane.

Atalaya winced a bit in sympathy. Beside her, Ankh made a noise of amusement.

After beating the poor young man to a pulp, the old woman turned to Atalaya, before bowing low. "I apologize for their intolerable behavior," she said. "There has been an incident on this island that have left the villagers extremely jumpy and prone to aggression when it comes to pirates." at that last sentence, she sent a vicious glare at the men behind her, who flinched as if she had pulled a gun on them. "I am the lone elder on Setsuzoku Island, Chie."

Atalaya blinked. "Oh, it's nothing...don't worry about it."

Chie looked back. "You hear that?! She's willing to forgive you for your irritable actions!"

Atalaya flinched at being called a girl. "I'm a man - "

"Nonsense," the woman interrupted. "You're a woman."

Shaking her head in wonder, the Saber Pirates followed the woman to the village, which was surrounded by a forest, telling the armed men to bring up the rear. As they followed her to the village, the woman explained the villagers' actions.

"Ten years ago, a bunch of pirates came and tore up the island connected with this one, Shonin Island, which used to be hugely populated. Our island is a lot smaller than that one, but we're connected by a bridge. Right now, Shonin Island is under oppression by a group of incredibly powerful pirates, and that's why our village, which is lucky not to have been touched, is very jumpy when it comes to pirates, Hogosha especially. They even built a bunch of 'defense mechanisms'." she scoffed. "A good waste of money, I say. Not all pirates are the same."

Atalaya, who was so absorbed in the story, didn't notice Kitsune stiffen slightly beside her, his eerie smile becoming strained.

The village that they arrived at was small, the houses all made of wood. There were young children playing in front of a few houses, their mothers chatting behind them, sitting on some wooden chairs. They were dressed as housewives, with long dresses and aprons tied at the waist.

Some middle-aged men were entering the village from the forest, carrying chopped-up limber on their shoulders and making small talk. When the group of pirates entered the village, they all fell silent, staring openly at the sailors.

"They're harmless, they won't attack us," Chie said calmly. "I daresay our 'warriors' here - " she glared at the men bringing up the rear, " - are more likely to attack them than they are to attack us." At her words, the village returned to their activities, as calm and easygoing as ever. Atalaya blinked.

"Hey, where's Kitsune?" Ruule suddenly asked, still smiling in an easy-going tone. Hogosha scoffed behind him.

"Foxface darted away back in the forest," he told them flatly. "You don't even care for your crewmates? Typical pirates."

Roa bristled at that, though Lance slugged his arm and glared at him. "Foolish charlatan, he's trying to rile you up. Don't fall for the bait."

"That guy is always wandering off," Ankh commented, crossing her arms.

Lance and Ruule wandered off, looking for places where they could restock on both food and supplies, while Roa tried pry Fell off his scalp (she had flared her wings out behind his head in an attempt to intimidate Hogosha and the rest of the men). The children, who were playing in front of their mothers earlier, ran up to Ankh, looking up eagerly at her.

"Nee-chan!" one of them called. It was a boy, of maybe five years old, with a chubby face, rosy cheeks, and messy blond hair. "Your mask is so cool!" he gave an excited little bounce.

Ankh chuckled lightly, and Atalaya knew the woman was reminded of Sasha. "I'm glad you like it, but your mother might not agree." She gestured to the children's mothers, who had stopped talking and stared, a little anxiously, at them. The kids pouted at her words, before running back and resuming their game, much to the relief of the women.

Before Atalaya could even take a few steps to explore the village, or maybe go hunting in the forest, when Chie limped up to her. The old woman's eyes were flashing with concern.

"Sabertooth Atalaya...you are the captain, correct?" she rasped.

Atalaya nodded in confirmation. "The one beside me is Ankh, our doctor." Ankh nodded respectfully at the elderly woman, her actions earlier clearly not lost on the doctor.

Chie turned around, before walking toward the direction of a house. "Follow me." It was a clear order, with no room for defiance. Blinking in confusion, the two women followed her, Atalaya mouthing to Ankh, _What's this all about?_

Ankh shrugged.

In a few moments, they found themselves sitting in wooden chairs inside the elder's house. The wooden dining table was small, clearly made for four people at most. A small picture hung from the wall, one of a child's sword scribble. Chie was pouring tea, her frail-looking hands surprisingly steady in handling the hot liquid, moving with a sort of fluidity and grace.

After a few moments, she sat down, and stared at Atalaya in the eye.

"You should leave this island immediately," she said. Before the captain could question the abruptness of the statement, she continued. "We will attempt to cover your existence from the pirates governing Shonin Island. Perhaps you can find a map and navigate to another island, and take another route."

"Why?" Ankh demanded, while Atalaya was still recovering her voice. "What's wrong with this island?"

The old woman sighed. "Setsuyoku Island is called that for a reason; as we told you, our island is connected to Shonin Island with a bridge. That bridge is actually the island's natural formation, meaning that the two share a magnetic force, and could also be considered one giant island. However...ten years ago, pirates of immense power arrived here, they set up an odd factory on Shonin Island, and enslaved all the residents...you should not challenge them, no matter what. They may view you as useful, and will not hesitate to enslave you too."

"We're not weak, if you're implying that," Atalaya bristled a bit. "Like hell we're gonna let another pirate crew drive us out. You say they were enslaving the residents of Shonin Island?"

"For the last decade or so," the woman replied.

Ankh twitched with irritation. "How come no one's tried to overthrow them? Jericho, a pirate, terrorized my home island, but ultimately we managed to overthrow him...I don't see what's so different."

"These pirates are incredibly strong," the woman insisted. "Their captain is a Shichibukai, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea." she paused for a moment to let that sink in. "From what I hear, they're incredibly involved in illegal trades..and the branch here is only a fraction of their power. If you infuriate them, their captain may send all his forces...and both islands will be ravaged. No doubt about it. Their name..."

"...the _Donquixote Pirates_."

* * *

Atalaya crouched down on the soft pine floor, slowly transforming into a sabertooth tiger. She narrowed her eyes as her fangs dug into her old scars, and fur grew over her body. Her eyes closed in on a wild boar, who was too busy sniffing a bramble bush for possible dinner to notice her. Bunching up her muscles, she sprang with a feral snarl, startling the surrounding birds. The boar didn't need to be told twice to run, and he pelted off at full speed.

She gave chase, each step gaining more ground, and she pounced after five steps, digging her claws in to hold the boar in place, she quickly killed it with a blow to the neck, before dragging the carcass into a few bushes and looking for other prey.

As she broke into a sprint again, this time after a young buck, the words of Chie sounded in her ear. A Shichibukai, at this island? Even though it was only a branch, when Ankh had told the rest of their crewmates, some disagreed with clashing with them head-on until they got stronger.

She snarled as her sharp canines tore through the deer's throat, killing it. She paused, sniffing the air, and found the bush where the boar was, before dragging the body to rest beside it. A good hunt had always taken her mind off things...but not this time. She had an inexplicable gut feeling that something was going to happen on this island...and not necessarily good at that.

Soon, there was another boar and three rabbits to accompany her catches. It took her three round trips to carry all the game back, though the adrenaline in her veins were urging for more.

Some of the villagers gave her their sincere gratitude, telling her that they used to do commerce with Shonin Island, and with the arrival of the pirates, their food supply had slowly deteriorated.

That evening, Ruule had taken it upon himself to cook a massive meal with the game Atalaya had caught (as always, he remained unfazed by the news of a possible Shichibukai near them, and had a happy smile on his face).

"Aaah, I'm stuffed," Roa commented, leaning back on his chair and patting his stomach. Ruule's cooking was, as usual, delicious, which meant that the Saber Pirates had all eaten at least three sittings. Even so, their fox-faced swordsman still hadn't shown up.

Atalaya let out a laugh at Roa's comment. "If you give any more meat to Fell, I swear, she's going to fall like an anchor the next time you try to fly." True, the once-slim green dragon resembled something of a bloated, green, scaly balloon now, with wings. The small dragon had probably eaten just as much as the blond archer, if not more.

"Maybe she'll float up like a balloon instead," Ruule mused, without a hint of sarcasm.

Atalaya shrugged. "Who knows? Anyway, I'm going to call it a night, and maybe in the morning our first mate will turn up." The deadpan tone indicated that she didn't really expect that.

The only bar in the village luckily had a few spare rooms; enough if two people shared a room, that was. Atalaya and Ankh being disqualified at the beginning because of their gender, Roa and Lance had, unfortunately, drawn the short sticks, which meant that they would be rooming. As Atalaya entered her room and flopped on the bed, she gave a silent prayer that the two wouldn't utterly demolish the poor wooden thing by dawn.

With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

_Grrtt._

The sound of something digging into bark woke Atalaya up, and she sat upright, wondering if someone had attacked. Looking around and realizing that there was no one, she narrowed her eyes and eased herself back into the scratchy folds of her bed.

_Grrrt._

She tensed. There it was again. Every time, there was a rhythmic pause before the bark was slashed again, like a repeating pattern.

Soundlessly slipping out of bed, she tugged her pants and boots on, tied her short, spiky hair back with her trademark bandanna, and put on her shirt. There was only a sliver of moon in the sky, but it was more than enough for her with her devil fruit. She slowly opened her door, mentally running through the layout of the second floor. If she remembered correctly, there was a balcony...

Closing the gap with five long strides, she pushed open the wooden doors, momentarily closing her eyes as the cool night air blew against her face. She exhaled slowly, before putting her hand on the banister and pushing off it, jumping down and landing as gracefully as a cat.

She straightened up, looking around, and her eyes fell on the silver hair, glinting lightly in the scarce moonlight. Kitsune.

The fox-face was sharpening Hebi Kotei on the bark of a nearby tree. Already, she saw six long gashes through the rough bark. The blade of the Meito glinted menacingly, and Atalaya's mouth pulled into a scowl.

"Mind telling me where you were all day?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Thinkin'," Kitsune replied, drawing back his sword and examining the blade. Looking satisfied, he brushed off stray pieces of bark and sheathed it. "Y'know...I said I'd sail th' seas ta _kill_," he said. "Problem is, I ain't takin' orders from a cap'n who's soft 'nuff to protect some aggressive villagers, much less take a blow from them and not fight back."

He looked up from his sword, opening his eyes enough to show blood-red, glinting. "I been thinkin', cap'n. Remember when I asked what ya would do if I betrayed ya?" his grin spread eerily. Atalaya widened her eyes, and instinctively claws lengthened on her fingers and she parried Kitsune's blade with them, gritting her teeth to hold it back. Tensing her muscles, she shoved forward, similar to a claw gun, and throwing Kitsune's Hebi Kotei back.

"What're you saying?" Atalaya demanded.

"Are ya dense, or just in denial, _cap'n_?" Kitsune mocked lightly. "'m sayin' that I'm leavin' th' crew."

The words were so abrupt that, for a moment, Atalaya stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. The words registered after a pause, and then her hands curled into fists. Her first mate, leaving? Sure, he was incredibly irritating, lazy, annoying, and unreliable, but she had known him the longest. Trust had built up day after day as they sailed the sea together, and they had fought battles together, back-to-back.

"What's this all about?! Oi, Kitsune, if this is a joke, it's not funny!"

"Ain't lookin' much like a joke, is it..._sweetheart_?" his voice mocked her, and Atalaya gritted her teeth. She stepped forward, not really knowing what she was going to do until fur grew over her skin, her fangs lengthening until it pressed in her old scars, and she transformed into her hybrid form. She stared at herself for a moment. _Am I gonna forcefully stop him...? I _did_ promise I would kill him if he ever betrayed me.._

Kitsune's smirk widened. "A-a-a, no usin' _force_, now, that's cheatin'." Before she could knock Hebi Kotei out of his hands, Kitsune slashed at a tree, the pressure cleanly slicing through a whole row beside Atalaya, and they all shifted. Atalaya's eyes widened as they crashed down at her, groaning and creaking loudly, before widening her stance and raising her hands.

"Twin Claw Cannon!" she snarled, slashing the air, the movements of her arms blurring together. The air pressure sliced through the bark, and cut through the green leaves. Gritting her teeth, she felt her fangs dig deeper in her old scars, before the trees all fell still. There were piles of torn bark, broken branches, and leaves around her, all slashed jaggedly. Atalaya reverted to her human form, breathing hard as her heart pounded fiercely in her ears. Dust was in the air, forming a tan smokescreen. Soon, the wind cleared the dust away, showing that her former first mate was gone.

She heard footsteps, and then Ankh, Roa (with Fell on his shoulder), Lance, and a sleepy-looking Ruule all burst on the balcony, their eyes widened. Atalaya figured that the falling trees had woken the locals. Well, that was something to apologize for, at least.

"What happened?" Roa demanded, his eyes raking over the debris surrounding the girl. "There was a huge lot of noise, and the locals are paranoid the Donquixote Pirates attacked."

Atalaya looked up at him, biting her lip. "It wasn't them," she said flatly. "But I have some bad news." At her words, her crewmates tensed. She took a deep breath.

"Kitsune... Kitsune's just left the crew."

* * *

Kitsune opened his eyes just a sliver, enough to glimpse the blindingly bright sun reflected off the churning blue waves of the sea. He sat on a branch on an oak tree, staring at the natural rocky bridge that connected Setsuzoku Island and Shonin Island together, the green leaves providing a nice shelter from the rays. It had been several hours since he had left the Saber Pirates, and now dusk had gave way to dawn and the sun, high in the sky, declared that it was close to noon.

His fingers brushed the hilt of Hebi Kotei, his hand resting comfortably into the bumps in it, and his mouth uncharacteristically twisted into a slight frown. It was the sword that Atalaya, his former captain, had gotten him. Before, he was so used to using _that _sword.

_Her _sword.

His eyes skimmed over the green canopy surrounding the edges of the massive Shonin Island, where it wasn't as likely to be toured, glimpsing a small brown cabin among it. So that woman had managed to survive for a decade.

Red pupils then traveled to the center of the island. The trees once inhabiting that spot had been chopped down, the dirt paved over with smooth platinum-silver gravel. Once, houses and stores lined the streets, humans bustling about, laughing, living their lives. Maybe an occasional beggar on the streets. Now, after _they _had come, it was all smashed down. Replacing the stores and houses was one massive castle, filled with twisting passages, powerful pirates, and the inhabitants-turned-slaves. Except for one.

Unconsciously, Kitsune's grip tightened on his sword, holding it so hard his knuckles turned the color of his silvery hair. An untamed rage started bubbling in his stomach, and the wildlife near him scrambled away, the bloodlust so intense that some birds, who were perched on the smaller branches beside the swordsman, took flight, letting out warning calls as their wings battered the airs.

He didn't know if he had gotten strong enough in the past decade. Moving from sea to sea to get stronger, continuously slaughtering to get stronger. Laughing when he faced incredibly powerful opponents.

Atalaya wasn't lying when she said they would be facing monstrous foes. And thanks to that, Kitsune became a lot stronger. He had felt a small, protesting twinge when he'd left, though he knew that his use in a pirate crew wouldn't be very good if he was a corpse.

He stood up suddenly, his red kimono flaring out. Soon, it would be stained with blood. He tensed on the branch, the brown quivering slightly, before he pushed off, soaring over the expanse of water between the two islands. He unsheathed a sliver of the sword, the silver glinting menacingly in the sunlight, crimson eyes trained on the gray castle.

_It's been a decade...today, I'll kill you all. _

* * *

**A/N: **This will probably be continued in two or more chapters, because...well, I thought it would be better if I cut it off at that point. Ankh is so hard to get into character ;-; and I couldn't really remember all Atalaya's techniques and what they did...so I improvised. If I made any mistakes, please tell me! This was my first time doing a slightly movie-esque fanfic, and I would appreciate feedback :3 Updates will probably be slow, seeing as the chapters are incredibly long...

-alittlebitlate


	2. Part II

**A/N: **So after elaborating on the entire plotline and OCs, this has become MUCH LONGER than I have previously anticipated. That being said, this will probably be expanded to five parts or more. No definite number for now, though.

Disclaimers/Warnings have been posted in Part I and I will not be rewriting that because it is tedious and I am extremely lazy.

* * *

Yellow eyes stared stubbornly at the natural, rocky bridge, the sun floating higher and higher into the sky. Atalaya was perched on a smooth stone near the edge of the island, only a few meters away from the extension from one island to another, still glaring at the expanse of water.

Only a few hours ago, in the dead of night, had her first mate deflected from her crew. Just the mere thought of it made her fists clench, shaking with fury. But where was that anger directed? At first, she had thought it was for her former swordsman, but that wasn't true.

It was for herself. She hated herself right now, for being tongue-tied, for losing her first comrade - no, _friend_ - in her quest to become the Pirate King. That was like Gold Roger losing Silvers Rayleigh.

She heard footsteps rustling through the undergrowth behind her, and her sabertooth senses told her it was Ankh. The woman's tread was slightly lighter and less brash than the rest of the crew, save for Ruule, and her weights made a small dragging noise through the hard-packed dirt. Atalaya cast a glance behind her, seeing the familiar waist-length caramel-brown hair and the voodoo mask on the face. Ankh had traded her former attire for a simple white blouse that revealed her muscled midriff, and a long black skirt, adorned with silvery designs and a slit in the side.

Atalaya wearily quirked up her lip. "It seems that the children are fond of you."

Ankh chuckled lightly. "Their mothers were a little worried about the chains, but I managed to keep those. Anyway..." her voice grew serious. "What are we going to do from here on? Are we going to leave your first mate?"

The captain hesitated. "He was hiding something," Atalaya finally settled on. "I bet I drove Roa, Lance, and Fell in a frenzy, didn't I?" After they had found her among the wreckage of trees, Atalaya had dashed off in her Zoan hybrid form and had effectively avoided them for a while.

Ankh paused for a moment. "I was in the washroom when I heard him," she said. "I guess I didn't really think of it at the time, and he was fooling around with the tree, slashing marks through the bark...but then his expression.." she paused. "It was like he was intending to finish something." She shifted from one foot to another while speaking, letting her chains rattle a bit.

Atalaya knew she was speaking from personal experience.

She stood up abruptly, the sudden movement startling wildlife around her. Birds jumped to the air, flapping away and letting out warning calls, golden orbs fixated on Shonin Island. "It's there," she said, with absolute confidence in her voice. "I don't know how...but I have this gut feeling that Shonin Island holds all the secrets." she looked over at the Witch Doctor. "We're heading there as soon as we gather the rest of the crew."

Ankh huffed lightly, though Atalaya could hear the smile in the other woman's voice. "Aye aye, captain."

The bright sun had burned off the morning dew, evidenced as Atalaya's sandals remained dry through the trek, and soon, she saw the backs of the rest of the crew, sitting, or standing, near the porch of the inn. Her archer and shipwright seemed to be engaged in a furious argument, which, on more than one occasion, drew rude hand gestures and threats to cut off braids, while Fell hissed Roa's defense on his back at Lance.

Ruule seemed cheery, and was twirling Beauty in one hand lightheartedly, gazing happily at the blue sky. Upon noticing the return of the captain and the doctor, he waved, grinning, and called them over.

"Eluur was a little upset that Kitsune wanted to leave and was goading me to blasting a few holes in him," Ruule greeted with a happy smile on his mouth. Behind her, Ankh let out a small sigh and pressed her palm to her forehead, earning a small chuckle from her captain.

Lance, noticing the arrival of Atalaya and Ankh, turned his back on an indignant Roa, before greeting the former. "Hello, captain. Your impulsive actions earlier had driven the charlatan - " at this Roa aimed a punch at his head, which the blue-haired mechanic dodged, " - and his 'pet' into a frenzy and near scared the villagers half to death, earning us a warning from Hogosha."

Roa grumbled something under his breath about giving the wrong message and thinking the Saber Pirates were going to be disbanded.

"You were a fool, charlatan, for believing that," Lance told him flatly.

"What did you say?!"

"Later," Atalaya cut in between the two. "Right now, we're heading for Shonin Island."

Ruule looked over, at the large island looming over them. It was hard to believe the two islands were connected. "The one with the Shichibukai's crew on it?" he inquired idly.

"The one and only," Ankh remarked dryly. Atalaya could hear a smile in her voice, however strained it sounded. _"Will ye follow thy comrade to the depths of hell, 'r abandon him, scum of the flote?" _she quoted darkly.

Roa at her as Fell shrunk back at the ominous words. "Where's that from?"

The Witch Doctor's voice was dark as she answered.

"A tragedy."

* * *

The walk to the edge of Setsuzoku Island was short; after all, the island was extremely small. Shonin Island loomed in the distance, the large black castle taking residence looking intimidating. The rustles of grass against legs were the only noises that pierced the suffocating silence around the five (and a half) pirates.

Soon, Atalaya could hear the waves crashing against the sandy shores, and taste the salty tang in the air. Through the undergrowth of the forest, she could glimpse glittering blue, and her skin prickled in apprehension as she cast a quick glance behind her.

Suddenly, she stopped walking. As she was walking in front of her crewmates, Roa yelped in surprise and had to dig his heels in at the last minute as to avoid a crash, Fell squawking in alarm at the sudden stop.

"What did you do that for?" Roa grumbled irritably, attempting futilely to pry Fell's blunt teeth off his long braid, which had latched on instinctively (and rather painfully).

"I've been thinking..." she said slowly. "That we shouldn't go find Kitsune after all. He's only one crewmate, and it's not worth it, going up against a _Shichibukai_'s crew, and we shouldn't risk it. I say we go back and keep a low profile on Setsuzoku Island, until the Log sets, and leave here as fast as possible." she looked back at her comrades', whose faces showed her varying expressions of shock, surprise, and disgust (though she was assuming with Ankh).

She couldn't stop the madman grin from splitting her face. "Isn't that what you wanted me to say..._Hogasha_?" she challenged, looking squarely at a tree a few meters behind the group. With noises of shock, the crew followed her eyes, and Atalaya's smirk grew wider when she saw the tall man emerging from behind the tree, brandishing a sharper spear and looking disgruntled.

"How did you find me?" he asked, looking irritated. "Not even deer can hear me while I'm hunting."

Atalaya rubbed the bottom of her nose with her forefinger. "Don't underestimate the nose of someone who's part cat," she laughed at the frustrated expression on his face. "Anyway, what do you want? Assuming you followed us all the way here from the village, I think you want to tell us something." Her voice was tinged with sarcasm.

Hogosha scowled at them. "Glad you figured it out, pirate scum." Before Roa could fire a hot retort, he jabbed the spear in their direction. "There are things here better left untouched! If you don't want to doom us all, don't go on that island!" his eyes flickered with a harsher fire than when he had confronted them, back when they'd first arrived.

Atalaya opened her mouth to reply, but Eluur beat her to the call. Stepping forward, the cook aggressively yanked the man's shirt collar down (Hogosha was a lot taller than him), before snarling darkly in his face, "What do you mean, _doom us all_? We're pirates! We do whatever we want!" his other hand went down to brush Beauty, which was in a holster strapped on his waist. It was a clear threat.

Hogosha blinked at the sudden change of personality, before he snarled back, "Figures! Pirates are scum, after all!"

"Oi, Eluur, back down!" Atalaya grabbed his arm and yanked him back, before grabbing both of his arms and transforming into her hybrid form to hold him down. She turned to Hogosha, a question mark forming near her lips as she said, "Our crewmate has just gone on that island, and we're planning on getting him back. Why shouldn't we go on Shonin Island?"

Hogosha looked irritated, and his mouth began to form a reply when Lance, who had been nearing the shore, turned back and called out.

"Captain! We may have some trouble approaching," he called, his eyes glued to the figure running across the natural stone bridge. He and Roa, who was beside him, both tensed, Lance sliding out his trench knives, and Roa reaching back to take his bow out of the quiver, while Fell, on his back, spread her wings to make him look even more intimidating.

"Who is it?" Ankh asked, readying her weights. The links clicked together menacingly.

Lance hesitated, before relaxing. "It's...a woman," he paused, sheathing his trench knives, before scowling and whacking Roa on the back of his head. "Put down your arrows, charlatan! She is no threat, and she isn't carrying any weapons, either!"

"Better safe than sorry," Roa growled back, looking like he wanted to shoot Lance instead, but nevertheless reluctantly put his bow back into the quiver. Even though he wasn't leveling his arrows at the woman, and Fell had, rather unhappily, folded her wings back, he walked over to where the stone bridge began, clearly intent on confronting the woman, and blinked in surprise when she ran straight past him, instead running up to Hogosha, and, without missing a beat, swung a fist on his head and roared, _"You idiot!" _

She was of medium height, slightly shorter than Roa and Lance. Her face could've looked beautiful and innocent, if not for the many scars lining her face. Her piercing brown eyes sparkled, however faintly, and her bright orange hair was cropped short, brushing her shoulders. She had a curvaceous body, though her clothes were extremely practical, with a normal white t-shirt, navy blue cargo pants, and hiking boots, and she was staring down in irritation at the older man.

Hogosha doubled over, clutching his head, before staring at the woman. "Sajiko!" he cursed, looking irritated. "I told you not to come over here! _I'm _handling the pirates!" he glared at her, even as Atalaya blinked in confusion, looking between the two and mouthing to Ankh, _they know each other? _The latter simply shrugged.

"Obviously you weren't deterring them!" Sajiko retorted angrily, jabbing at him in the chest, even though she was easily a head shorter than the man, if not more. "Jeez! Didn't you recognize Kitsune?! They're trying to go after him; they're pirates, obviously they don't give a shit about us! He could leak information about them, so they need to find him, and fast! Idiot!" at that last word, she whacked him on the head, making Hogosha double over, clutching said abused body part. _  
_

"Kitsune? Did you mention Kitsune?" Atalaya suddenly asked, looking at the woman, momentarily letting go of Ruule, who had calmed down.

Sajiko whirled around, facing the Zoan user. "Are you really that eager not to let information spill from your crew, pirate?!" she demanded hotly, clearly still angry at Hogosha, who was rubbing his head, as the bump swelled double the size of his head.

"I'm not!" Atalaya scowled. "I just want my crewmate back! We're all _nakama_, aren't we?!"

Her response seemed to startle Sajiko, who stared at her for a moment. "You..." she said slowly. "You view your subordinates as _friends_? But you're a _pirate_..." she shook her head as if it was the most mysterious phenomenon she had ever encountered.

"So? We're all pirates because we are _free_," Atalaya retorted. "I don't give a crap what you think of us, I'm going on that island and I'm going to bring Kitsune back!" _  
_

Sajiko had gone silent at this, staring at Atalaya, half-suspicious, half-shocked. For a moment, it looked like she was going through an internal battle, before she sighed. "Do you really want to bring your friend back?" she asked softly, looking tired.

"Of course I do!"

"Hey, Sajiko, you aren't going to _tell _them, are you?! If the Donquixote Pirates find out, they'll be furious!" Hogosha suddenly said, looking at her with a startling intensity.

Sajiko looked over at him. "It's alright," she said. "If not, they'll just charge in recklessly and get both islands killed." She paused, before looking over at the Saber Pirates, who looked momentarily subdued. "I take it you are familiar with the Donquixote Pirates?" she inquired lightly, even as she drew a knife from between...her _assets_, tracing a line in the dirt. _  
_

"Yeah, what about it?"

"The crew of Donquixote Doflamingo, a Shichibukai...who is also an underground broker, known as his alias 'Joker'. He is involved in illegal trade, as well as dealings with a Yonko, _Hyakuju no Kaido_, and it involves turning regular fruits into artificial Zoan Devil Fruits, or Smiles, with the use of a substance called S.A.D. However, to manufacture it, you need lots of manpower and a brilliant scientist, both which Doflamingo has attained."

"You can _create _Devil Fruits?!" Ankh breathed, earning herself a taut nod from Sajiko.

"His crew is divided into five divisions." here, in the dirt, she traced a heart, a diamond, a clover, and a spade. "The Heart, the Club, the Spade, and the Diamond, all led by Elite Officers, who possess immense strength. However, his fifth division is called the Joker Division, which is named after his underground alias because it specializes in illegal trade and stealth. It is also led by an Elite Officer, with officers making up the rest, though they are not the same caliber as the rest of the division, as it is not a direct-combat unit." While speaking, Sajiko sketched scratches in the dirt, creating a visual image.

Sajiko drew in a shuddering breath. "Ten years ago, when Doflamingo began his trade with Kaido, he quickly realized that he needed more manpower to keep the Smiles going. So he took advantage of Shonin Island's surplus of population, and sent his Joker Division over to cause anarchy on the island and enslave the residents to create S.A.D. Because he is a Shichibukai, and therefore Government-approved, no Marines come here to free the slaves.." her voice shook. "I was one of the lucky ones, who managed to hide away when they came..Hogosha, too. That's why he's paranoid the pirates will come and attack Setsuzoku Island too, though the only residents there is the small village you saw."

"How does this tie in with our swordsman?" Ruule asked cheerfully, despite the dark story.

Sajiko huffed. "I suppose I'll have to tell you...though he won't be happy with me telling you his story..." she drew in a breath, closing her eyes, as if mentally preparing herself. _Which is, on second thought, very plausible,_ Atalaya mused. If it was particularly traumatizing, one would prefer not to recount it.

"Alright, so, where to begin..."

* * *

_Fourteen Years Ago  
__- inside a small, shabby house, on an unnamed island_

"So this is an Artificial Devil Fruit, eh?"

Inside a house, on a small island on the Grand Line, a man stood up. He was nearing his early thirties, though his body was lean and well-muscled, not to mention scarred from many years of fighting. The man had silver hair, which he allowed to grow over his eyes, which were slitted open the slightest bit, revealing a red glint. On his back was strapped diagonally a double-bladed scythe, silver and edged with black, the blade curved wickedly, and the shaft was as long as his body. In his hand, he held an apple, though it had a purple color, and small spots of blue, ringed with yellow, was all over it, and he was staring down at it with morbid fascination.

JAAKUNA "GENERAL" CHIRI  
BOUNTY: 160,000,000 BERI  
ELITE OFFICER OF THE JOKER DIVISION  
DONQUIXOTE PIRATE

"Aye," a man beside him, a little taller and lankier, nodded. He had shaggy brown hair, which covered his eyes, a dark tan, and a brown hat pulled over his head. He wore a body-length trench coat with black gloves and shoes, and looked quite intimidating. "Th' cap'n's ready ta blackmail th' World Govrn'ment," he chuckled lightly. "Ta become a military dog. Aft'r that, they're headin' ta Dressrosa ta take over th' throne, and strike a business with Kaido. Thanks ta Caesar Clown, we got ourselves a Smile thru S.A.D., though it's a prototype, so I told 'em to give it ter you. 'Said ya could test it out on yer slave first."

SENTOTAKAI "SLAUGHTERER" HYORO  
BOUNTY: 67,000,000 BERI  
OFFICER OF THE JOKER DIVISION  
DONQUIXOTE PIRATE

Chiri let out a low chuckle. "You're saying I should test this out on my own child?" his voice dripped with mock hurt. "What kind of monster do you take me for, Hyoro?"

"One who enslaves 'is son, that's wha'," the other man replied gruffly, giving a look of disgust for the small, hunched-up figure of a five year old boy on the ground. There was a metal collar around his neck, which was attached to a chain and into a wall, where he was forced to crawl like a dog. There were bruises and dried blood around the boy, and an old rag was the only thing that covered him. He knew that the boy's hair had been silver once upon a time, except that it was now covered and caked with dry blood, dirt, and filthy things. "'Must say, though, looks like the spittin' image of ya. Didja even name 'im?"

"Slave number one," Chiri deadpanned. "The damned bar woman didn't use protection, so I got stuck with this piece of shit," he smirked sadistically. "Might as well put him to good use." He looked down at the boy, before kicking him harshly in the gut with his boot. "Oi! Get up!" he snarled. When the boy didn't even stir, he scowled, spitting on him, before hitting him roughly a few times with the scythe shaft.

With each strike, a red bruise marked itself, earning a small whimper from the boy, before he dragged himself up, arms shaking, into a sitting position. Chiri scowled at him.

"About time!" he spat. "You haven't eaten in three days, eat this." He threw the apple at the boy, which promptly glanced off his forehead and landed with a _thud _on his feet, which seemed to infuriate the man even more.

Surging forward, he delivered a harsh kick to the boy, who tumbled back like a rag doll, slamming into the wall behind him. "Are you eating it, or playing with it?! Hurry up, you vile thing, I don't have all day here!"

""m surprised they don't call ya "torturer", th' World Gov'rnment," Hyoro observed flatly, earning him a chuckle from Chiri. "They're near damn terrified of ya, with yer bounty and everythin'."

"Don't be, I'm a very good general and leader to the Joker Division," he replied, his lip curled.

The two men watched as the boy, reluctantly and shakily, lifted the fruit to his mouth, taking a large bite of it. The moment he swallowed it, the slave's throat convulsed, and he had to slap a hand in front of his mouth to stop himself from puking all over the floor. With some difficulty, he gulped it down again, before proceeding to finish the rest of the fruit off, though he almost retched several times.

"'Must taste bad," Hyoro muttered with a little bit of sympathy, feeling bile rise up in his own throat at the thought of the Devil Fruit he ate.

There was a pause as the last bit of the apple was gone, swallowed by the slave, and Chiri stared at him expectantly, as if wondering if he would transform or not. When nothing happened, he grew angry again. "What did you do?!" he spat at the boy, who widened his eyes and trembled. Chiri stepped forward. "Transform!" he ordered brutally, who only cowered beneath his harsh gaze.

"That was th' only successfully created Smile," Hyoro pointed out. "'f it's a failure, then we gotta tell Caesar Clown, and th' Young Master," he told Chiri. His words fell on deaf ears as Chiri slowly drew out his whip again.

"Idiot!" He lashed his whip again, striking open a large red weal on contact. "Worthless! Messes up everything! Good-for-nothing!" with every phrase, he whipped his son harder. "_Transform_! Transform _now_! Or you'll suffer torture much worse than this!" his eyes blazed with anger, deranged.

He stepped forward, before sliding out a dagger strapped to his leg, and brandished it aggressively, the sharpened edge glinting menacingly. "You insist, slave, on angering me?" His eyes darkened, and Hyoro backed away. The General was going mad.

The boy let out a small cry of fear, shaking violently as Chiri slowly advanced on him, cornering him. His red eyes were stretched wide with fright, palms pressing against the wall as a futile effort to wish it away and run. His eyes pooled with unshed tears, and, pressing himself against the corner so hard that the plaster dug into his flesh, a single teardrop fell.

As it shattered on the wooden floor, white fur grew at an almost abnormal rate over his skin, and Chiri widened his eyes, slowly backing away as he reached the scythe on his back, ready to subdue the Zoan, just as fox ears grew over silver hair and the walls behind him were punctured as nine tails sprouted on his backside. The chain snapped, too weak to hold down a fully transformed Mythical Zoan, leaving the metallic collar.

With a feral snarl, the fox pounced, and with a flash of silver his paw was placed dangerously on the scythe's curved blade, before the metal shattered completely. Chiri widened his eyes as a gash was sliced open on his cheek from the shards, and backed up, spinning the shaft in one hand.

"You! What're you playing at?!" he snapped, wiping away the blood.

Hyoro suddenly loomed behind him, transformed into a straw man, an eerie grin spreading on his face as he lunged for the slave. At the same time, Chiri charged, wielding his newly-deformed weapon with surprising accuracy.

As their attacks neared, time seemed to pause, and with a feral roar, the two men were blasted forcefully backwards, Hyoro into a few wooden barrels in a corner, Chiri crashing into a wall. Before the two men could recover, green flames started consuming the boy's paws. Judging by the terrified look in the Zoan's eyes, he didn't know what he was doing, either. He whirled around, attempting to put it out, and Chiri's eyes widened as the viridescent fire began consuming the house, spreading faster and hotter than normal flames.

Terrified, like a fleeing animal, the fox barreled through a wall, running as fast as he could. Before Chiri and Hyoro could run after the escaped Zoan, however, a beam, consumed with emerald tongs, crashed down in front of him, and smoke filled the house. Straw voodoo dolls flooded out of Hyoro, though even he had finite dolls and quickly collapsed amongst the searing heat. There was no escape.

Chiri gritted his eyes even as his knees buckled, dragging himself over to a pink Den Den Mushi with a pink feather boa and sunglasses. Hands shaking, he dialed his captain's number, and sure enough, he picked up.

"What's wrong?" came the deep voice of the Young Master.

"Smiles...successful.." Chiri rasped. Before he slumped from the flames and the smoke, he spat out a few more words.

"Test subject...escaped.."

And he welcomed the blissful black that came afterwards.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the small island, a silver nine-tailed fox was sprinting across the barren wasteland, heart pounding fiercely in his chest. What had just happened? He had been fed a strange fruit from his master, the General, and suddenly, he had no control over his body. A fight-or-flight instinct had overtaken his body, leaving the house flames.

General was going to whip him fiercely for this.

The thought of that made him push his tired muscles harder, dashing as he strained to see the blue that was the sea. What had General said again? _The sea is vast_. Of course. If he went out to sea, he could run from him. No more whippings. No more slavery. No more pain.

His muscles, however, were giving out on him no matter how hard he tried to push himself, and hunger clawed mercilessly at his belly. His vision was blurring, and suddenly he was staring at the ground, collapsed.

Weakly, he lifted his head to stare at the dot of blue in the distance.

_I want to be free..._

* * *

An aspiring swordswoman, only nine years of age, was trotting along the barren landscape, looking for creatures to defend herself against and practice her sword, her boat tied to a jutting rock near the shore, though it appeared there were none.

Her eyes widened when they fell on a crumpled figure.

* * *

Light.

The boy stirred faintly when light hit his eyelids, turning his entire world pink. For a moment, he lay still, wondering why the ground was so soft and why it was so warm and suffocating around him, and why his head was elevated from the rest of his body. Jolts of pain wracked his emaciated body when he stirred, and now he was slowly feeling his limbs again.

His eyelids fluttered open, revealing blood red eyes. The tips of lanky silver hair just barely fell into his eyes, surprising him. His hair had been caked with blood and dirt among other things the last time he remembered, before something startled him even more.

A wooden ceiling.

He licked his dry lips, staring at it. It was certainly not the ceiling of General, that was for sure. He felt his arms, before, with deliberate slowness, propping himself up with them. His body roared in protest, but he was used to this kind of treatment.

A _bed_. He was in a bed, complete with a pillow and a thick blanket that covered him from toe-to-shoulder. He stared at it in awe. Something cold touched his neck, and he realized with a jolt of horror that it was his metal collar, though there was no chain.

He looked around rapidly. He was in a small room, made of wood, with a small door near a corner. There was a window behind him, streaming light onto his deathly pale face, and the bed was pressed in another corner.

He flinched as the door creaked open, involuntarily cowering behind the blanket, before the person entered.

He took him in. He had light hair, straight that fell to his shoulders, and it was the color of straw, something that, if he was extra kind, General gave him to sleep on. Green eyes, the color of his fire, stared at him. He had a rosy face, rounder than General's or Slaughterer, with a build that was most definitely smaller than theirs. He was wearing a green t-shirt, and blue pants that stopped before his knees.

Suddenly, he smiled. "Are you finally awake? Good grief, I thought you were a goner with all those injuries."

The younger boy blinked. His voice was much higher than he had ever heard, save for the weak croaks that his own throat sometimes emitted. He stared at him, gaping for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

The straw-haired person gestured to himself. "I found you on a barren island when I went there for training, but you were unconscious then." he paused to allow himself a shudder. "What happened? I couldn't get your metal collar off, but I treated most of your injuries; they were horrible, and you were close to death..." his voice trailed off when he realized the former slave was staring at him in an odd way. "What's wrong?"

"Yer voice..." the boy murmured. Speaking had been forbidden back in General's house, and his first words were clumsily pronounced, slurred and hard to discern. "Why's yer voice so high?"

The person stared at him for a moment, before asking, "Do you know what a girl is?"

He shook his head, complete honesty and innocence on his features.

He cracked a grin. "Wow, you must have been really isolated. A girl is...a different type of human, and we grow up to become women." The younger boy's eyes widened at this information, and she continued. "Our shoulders are usually not as broad as men's," she said, reaching up to brush said shoulders. "Our hands are normally smaller, and we have...less physical strength than them, on average." her voice had gone soft at that last part, but before he could question any further, she changed the subject.

"So where are you from? What's your name? Mine's is Emu, by the way," she added, like an afterthought.

"General. I serve General," he said softly. "Slave numb'r one."

The atmosphere changed as her face fell, first from shock, and then into a scowl. "You mean...someone beat you until you were in that shape?" a dark aura surrounded her. "_No one_ should treat someone like that, even the absolute filth of the human doesn't deserve to be treated like that!" she protested, still looking angry.

He was staring at her in awe. "Ya ain't disgusted by me?" he asked slowly.

Emu looked over at him. "Why would I? Anyway, you don't have a name, right?" she added. She paused, staring at him for a moment. He didn't squirm; in fact, this was one of the gentler stares he had earned in his lifetime.

"Kitsune," she decided. "Simple is better. I don't think you have a family, either?"

The newly-named Kitsune hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head.

Emu grinned. "I'm a swordswoman trainee, aiming to be the best swordsman in the world! I live on Shonin Island." she held out a hand to Kitsune, welcoming him. "Pleased to meet you, Kitsune!"

For a moment, the boy stared at the outstretched hand, as if not knowing what to do. Suddenly, as if a spark had been lit, the corners of his mouth pulled upwards, a tentative smile, and he took ahold of it.

"Yeah."

* * *

**A/N: **KYAAAAHHH! Broken!Kitsune is soo adorable to wriiiiteeee! /squeals while spinning in circles Originally, I was going to put the entire flashback, but it ended up wayyyyyy too long and I decided to cut it short. The rest of it will be in the next chapter, and finally, some action! XD As you can tell, I'm not very good at writing fight scenes, so...

ALSO: The Joker Division is _**NOT**_ on par with the rest of the Divisions that Doflamingo has, mostly because the Straw Hats are fighting on par with them _only _after the timeskip. No, I'm not implying that the Saber Pirates are _weak_, it's more like the Straw Hats have had two extra years to get stronger with a few of the strongest people in the world.

I totally ripped off Basil Hawkin's DF, but since it happened fourteen years ago...well.. XD **lack of imagination**

Yes, I _did_ just give Nami a biological sister XD More about Sajiko and her backstory will be explained, hopefully, in the flashbacks. If not, I'll elaborate in author notes!

By the way, is anyone interested in beta-ing this fic? Because the chapters are WAYYY TOO LONG and I don't have the patience to correct any errors or rough patches. If you do, please PM me! Thanks!

-alittlebitlate


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